Riccardo Morandi

Palace of Justice Competition – Riccardo Morandi visit

Riccardo Morandi (1 September 1902 – 25 December 1989) was an Italian civil engineer best known for his innovative use of reinforced concrete. Amongst his best known works were the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Venezuela, an 8 km crossing of Lake Maracaibo incorporating seven cable-stayed bridge spans with unusual piers, and the Subterranean Automobile Showroom in Turin.

Career

Polcevera Viaduct, Genoa, Italy
Wadi el Kuf Bridge, Libya
General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge panoramic

Morandi was born in Rome. After his graduation in 1927, Morandi gained experience in Calabria working with reinforced concrete in earthquake damaged areas. On his return to Rome to open his own office, he continued with his technical exploration of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures and embarked on the design of a series of novel cinema structures and bridges. His numerous later works include his work on the Fiumicino Airport, Rome, in 1970 and a bridge in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1972.

Morandi was appointed professor of bridge design both at the University of Florence and the University of Rome.

Morandi's cable-stayed bridges are characterised by very few stays, often as few as two per span, and often with the spans constructed from prestressed concrete rather than the more usual steel.[1] Although these bridges are often impressive, they are less economic than bridges with multiple stays and have therefore been of little influence on other engineers.[2]

Bridges by Morandi have proved to require extensive maintenance and repairs over the years to pass bridge safety inspections. The third span of Ponte Morandi collapsed in Genoa, on 14 August 2018, causing 43 fatalities. The other two main spans remained standing. The cause of the collapse remains unknown. In 2016, Ponte Morandi had been described as a "failure of engineering", with escalating maintenance costs to keep it safe.[3] The Wadi el Kuf bridge was reportedly closed for safety reasons after inspections identified potential fractures in the bridge in October 2017.[4]

Projects

Other major works by Morandi include:

References

  1. ↑ A document of 1978 explaining the modern concrete cable-stay bridge of Morandi
  2. ↑ Fernández Troyano, Leonardo (2003). Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective. Thomas Telford Publishing.
  3. 1 2 Taylor, Matthew (14 August 2018). "Genoa bridge collapse: 'Unusual' span had seen frequent repair work". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ↑ AlHarathy, Safa (26 October 2017). "Authorities in east Libya close Wadi el Kuf Bridge for safety reasons". the Libya Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "The collison between "Esso Maracaibo" & the Bridge". Auke Visser's Other Esso Related Tankers Site. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Fernández Troyano, Leonardo (2003). Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective. Thomas Telford Publishing.
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